Releasable catch for equipment



Oct. 22, 1968 .1. J. M CARTHY 3,

RELEASABLE CATCH FOR EQUIPMENT Filed July 13. 1966 INVENTOR.

J56? (I Mccahlhf/ AGENT 3,406,995 at RELEASABLE CATCH FOR EQUIPMENT JohnJ. McCarthy, Weston, Conn., assignor to Norco, Inc., Ridgefield, Conn.,a corporation of Connecticut Filed July 13, 1966, Ser. No. 564,813 '2Claims. (Cl. 292-169) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A releasable catch foruse with mechanical equipment, comprising a base or anchorage memberhaving a front recess for receiving a movable bar of the equipment, andhaving a guideway which meets said recess. A slide bolt is movable inthe guideway and adapted to project into the recess for locking the bartherein. Operation of the slide bolt is effected by a manuallyoperablecam piece pivotally carried by the base oranchorage member.

This invention relates to releasable catches or latches of the typeemployed to temporarily hold movable members or parts of equipment, asfor example doors, gratings and the like.

:-Objects of the invention are to provide an improved releasable catchfor equipment, which effects an especially secure and reliable retentionof the parts involved while at the same time enabling the release to beeasily and quickly effected; to provide a catch as thus characterized,which is relatively small and compact, easily mounted, and adaptable toa wide variety of situations; to provide a catch as above, whichiseasily rendered operative to secure the associated parts of theequipment in the desired relationship, and which will remain in eitherthe latching or the unlatching condition as required; and to provide animproved catch having relatively few parts which may be economicallyfabricated and assembled, and which have straight-forward, simple andfoolproof movements providing the maximum degree of reliability.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the improved catch as provided bythe invention. g V

FIG. 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in verticalsection, of the catch of FIG. 1. Shown in FIG. 2 is a portion of agrating structure having a bar which is engaged by the catch.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the catch of FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring to the figures, the present improved releasable catchcomprises an anchorage member 10 having means in the form of fiat base12, for mounting the member on a piece of mechanical equipment such asthe supporting structure 14 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The mechanicalequipment may further comprise a movable part, such as a door, gratingor the like, such movable part being designated 16 in FIG. 2 andincluding a protuberant bar 18 mounted to provide a space 20 between itand an adjoining surface 22 of the movable part.

The anchorage member 10 has a recess 24 in which the bar 18 isreceivable, said recess being provided in a block 26 which is rigid onthe base 12 and disposed to project at right angles from the base. Theblock 26 comprises part of the anchorage member 10, and has a guideway28 preferably in the form of a cylindrical bore, said guideway meetingthe recess 24 and slidably carrying a slide bolt 30 having a locking end32 which is disposable in or else removable from the recess 24respectively, for advanced and retracted positions of the slide bolt.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the bolt 30 is shown in the advanced position whereinthe locking end 32 projects into the ni d. Saw Pat 3,406,995 PatentedOct. 22, 1968 recess 24. The bolt 30 is movable in an upward directionas viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, to a retracted position wherein the lockingend 32 is substantially entirely'removed from the recess 24. v,

Spring means comprising a helical compressing spring 34 is provided, forbiasingthe slide bolt 30 to the advanced position shown. The spring 34is disposed on the shank of the bolt 30, and engages a shoulder 36 ofthe bolt as well as a collar 38 which is snugly received in the guideway28 and secured in a fixed position by a pin 40.

There is further provided a manually operable cam means acting on-theanchoragemember 10 and also on the slide bolt 30, for retracting thelatter against the action of the spring means 34. The manually operablecam means comprises an arm 42 which is pivotally connected to the slidebolt 30 by means of a pivot pin 44, said cam arm being bifurcated and.the bolt 30 extending between the bifurcated portions 46 as shown inFIG. 2. The arm 42 has cam portions 48 which engage the block 26 and thecollar 38, thereby to effect actuation of the slide bolt when the camarm is turned through an arc of approximately In FIG. 1, the cam arm 42is shown as permitting the slide bolt 30 to occupy its advanced, lockingposition. A retracted position of thecam arm 42 is indicated by thebroken outline, and for such position the arm effects a retraction ofthe locking bolt 30, compressing the spring means 34 as will beunderstood. The camming action of the cam portion 48 enables retractionof the bolt 30 to be effected with relatively little force even thoughthe spring means 34 is fairly strong.

On the arm 42, projecting stop lugs 50 are provided, for engagement withopposite sides of the block 26 to constitute stops for limiting themovement of the arm to the prescribed approximate 90 arc. v

The block 26 has projecting lugs.52 disposed on opposite sides of thecam arm, constituting guides therefor whereby the arm is restricted formovement in a plane which is parallel to the base v12, for the permitted90 arc of travel. The cam. arm 42 includes an elongated projectingfinger piece 54 which extends either generally parallel or elseperpendicular'to the axis of the slide bolt 30, depending on whether themanually operable arm 42 is in the locking position illustrated in thefigures, or else in the releasing position shown by the broken outlinein FIG. 1.

Operation of the catch is as follows: the movable part 16 of themechanical equipment may be a pivoted grating, for example. The grating16 may have an arcuate path of travel indicated by the broken line 58.

Considering the locked condition shown in FIG. 2, the bar 18 carried bythe movable part 16 of the equipment is shown as being retained in therecess 24 by the slide bolt 30, particularly the nose portion 32thereof. The part or grating 16 of the equipment is thus held in theopen condition by the catch. When it is desired to release the grating16 for movement along the arcuate path 58, the cam arm 42 is swungupward through a 90 are from the full line position of FIG. 1 to thebroken line position shown therein. This effects a retraction of theslide bolt 30 whereby the locking portion 32 is withdrawn from therecess 24. In consequence, the bar 18 is now free to leave the recess,and the grating or other part 16 may be swung to the right as viewed inFIG. 2. The stop lugs 50 of the cam arm define the limits of movementthereof, and when the arm is in the releasing position the lug 50 willengage the right side of the block 62 as viewed in FIG. 1. With the fullline position of the cam arm as illustrated in FIG. 1, the stop lug 51engages the right side surface of the block 26. Even though the slidebolt 30 and locking portion 32 thereof are cylindrical, as well as theguideway 28, turning movement of the bolt is prevented by the guidinglugs 52 which are engageable with the cam arm 42. J p

The locking nose portion 32 of the slide bolt has a sloping outer face33 to enable the bolt to be momentarily cammed to its retracted positionby the bar 18 when the grating 16 is swung to the open position andengages the catch. Thus, it is only necessary to actuate the cam arm 42to effect release of the catch, or to return the arm to the lockingposition of FIG. 1 if it is occupying the releasing position shown indotted outline in FIG. 1.

It will now be understood from the foregoing that I have provided animproved manually releasable catch which is especially sturdy andreliable in its operation, consisting of relatively few partscharacterized by simple straightforward mechanical movements. Therelease of the catch is effected with relatively little force, by theprovision of the cam-type release arm 42. Notwithstanding this, thecatch will not accidentally release, this being due to the continuousforce exerted on the slide bolt 30 by the spring means 34. The catchcannot be accidentally released, in consequence, by vibratory forces,sudden shock and the like.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims,and portions of the improvement may be used without others.

I claim:

1. A releasable catch for use with a movable part of mechanicalequipment, said part having a bar for engagement with the catch, saidcatch comprising, in combination:

(a) an anchorage member having means for mount ing it on said equipment,

(b) said anchorage member having a recess in which the bar isreceivable, and having a guideway which meets said recess,

(c) a slide bolt movable in said guideway between advanced and retractedpositions and having a locking end which is disposable in or elseremoved from said recess respectively for said positions, thereby toretain said bar in or else release it from the recess,

(d) spring means biasing the slide bolt to its advanced position,

(e) manually-operable cam means acting on the anchorage member and slidebolt, for retracting the latter against the action of said spring means,

(f) said anchorage member comprising a flat base and a block disposed onsaid base at right angles thereto,

(g) said block having in it the recess, guideway and slide bolt,

(h) said guideway and slide bolt being substantially parallel to thebase,

(i) said recess facing in a direction away from and substantially normalto the base,

(j) said manually operable cam means comprising an arm pivotallyconnected to the slide bolt,

(k) said arm having a cam portion engaged with the block to effectactuation of the slide bolt,

(1) said arm having a pair of projecting lugs disposed respectively atthe ends of the cam portion and engageable respectively with oppositesides of the block to constitute stops for limiting the forward andbackward movements of the arm,

(m) said cam arm being bifurcated,

(n) said slide bolt extending between and being connected to thebifurcated portion of the cam arm,

(0) said block having a pair of spaced, flat, projecting parallel guidelugs disposed parallel to said flat base and extending on opposite sidesof the bifurcated portion of the cam arm, said lugs constituting guidesfor the arm,

(p) the cam arm including an elongate projecting finger piece,

(q) said arm and finger piece occupying locking and unlocking positionswhich are generally 90 apart, (r) said finger piece extending eithergenerally parallel or perpendicular to the axis of the slide bolt.

2. The invention as in claim 1, wherein:

(a) said anchorage member includes a collar secured in its guideway,

(b) the cam portion of said cam arm engaging one end of said collar,

(c) said spring means engaging the other end of said collar.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 595,290 12/1897 Dowman 292-169 X761,568 5/1904 Wedler 292-169 X 1,478,735 12/1923 Czapkowsky 292-1692,641,494 6/1953 Burris 292341.15 X

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner. J. R. MOSES, Assistant Examiner.

